


Before the War

by WeirdDaydreamingFangirl



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Jaime gets daddy feels from Pod, Pod tells Jaime to marry mommy bri, Realizations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 04:29:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7493856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdDaydreamingFangirl/pseuds/WeirdDaydreamingFangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime and Podrick rest from training and have a heart to heart talk. Jaime realizes he has new, interesting desires concerning the boy he had grown fond of in their travel North, and a certain wench that loved both these two foolish boys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Before the War

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lollyck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lollyck/gifts).



> It’s the prequel of my fic "I Challenge You to a Face Battle" ------> http://archiveofourown.org/works/5016100 But it can be a stand-alone, too. Still not sure if this is categorized as book or show. XD
> 
> I gift this to Lollyck because she kinda asked me for this even though it's been 84 years. ^_^ hahaha! Sorry. Inspiration only struck me yesterday.

Jaime collapsed on the snowy ground and leaned his back on the cold stone wall behind him. He just finished training with young Podrick. Although the boy was shy, he had grown fond of him during their travel North. All the while, Brienne had them both sparring so as to train them- Jaime with his left and the boy with his general skills.  


By the time they arrived in Winterfell, they both weren’t half bad.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Podrick asked, as he stood over him with a worried expression. The boy was able to deliver a mean blow, hence why Jaime was tired.

“I’m fine, Pod,” Jaime couldn’t help but beam at him. “Can’t say my ego is in a better shape than my bruised torso, though,” he added as a jape, and the boy bowed his head.

“Oh… I-I’m sorry, m-my lord,” the boy began to stutter. “I didn’t mean to-“ But Jaime raised his hand to silence him.

“Never mind my bruised ego, if you’re facing the enemy, you can’t hold back,” Jaime told him.

“Okay, ser,” he mumbled, still forlorn. Jaime couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Come sit beside me, Pod,” Jaime told him. The boy immediately obeyed. Jaime couldn’t help but hang his arm on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m a proud man, Podrick,” Jaime began. “And I was once the best swordsman in Westeros. Being bested by a young squire will no doubt frustrate me.”

At that, Pod tried to squirm free but Jaime clutched the boy’s shoulder- keeping him in place.

“But I’m proud of you, Pod,” Jaime added as he looked the boy right in the eye. “I’m honored that I helped trained a noble squire like you.”

Young Pod’s eye sparkled and Jaime couldn’t help but ruffle his black hair affectionately.

“You’re a good squire, Pod,” Jaime said, then added, “A good boy.” _Just like your knight_ , he wanted to say, but the words were stuck in his throat.

“Th-thank you, Ser Jaime,” the boy whispered.

_He’s so like the wench. If it weren’t for the looks, he could have been her son._

Suddenly, something played in Jaime’s mind. He recalled their campfire meals together on their way North. There was something… soothing… about it. Familial, even. Brienne would hunt, Podrick would gather firewood and start it, and Jaime would cook. When they sat around the fire, they talked about everything and nothing. They talked from weaponry to endearing childhood stories. Sometimes they’d quiz each other on survival tips. Pod most especially. Sometimes, it’s swordsman moves, then Jaime would set out to demonstrate with a wooden spoon and Brienne would chide him to sit down. He’d laugh and Pod would even laugh. Jaime did most of the talking with personal stories but Brienne would contribute greatly in the conversations with either her own stories or some snide comment. Her blue eyes sparkled as she talked of Tarth and its sapphire waters. Podrick’s eyes, though a brown one, sparkled the same way as he listened.

It was different than Lannister dinners. It was a time when Tywin would either burden the children with his impossible expectations or disappointments. Even his mere presence did that. Their cold, Northern wilderness meals were warmer than the meals in the cozy Casterly Rock.

 “Ser Jaime,” the boy whispered and it brought Jaime back from his fantasy.

“Yes, Pod?” Jaime replied, a warm feeling spreading in his chest. A feeling he thought that had died when Cersei denied him of his children.

The boy was shuffling. He seemed embarrassed. Jaime didn’t want the boy to withdraw from him. He wanted the boy to trust him. _Like Brienne._

“I’m scared, Ser Jaime,” he confessed.

Usually, Jaime would say some jape of sort but somehow, he couldn’t do it to Pod.

“It’s okay to be scared, Pod. I’m scared, too,” Jaime admitted.

“Really?” the boy gasped, his eyes wide in surprise. This made Jaime chuckle.

“Of course, Pod. Everyone gets scared. Even I, the most confident knight in Westeros,” Jaime boasted jokingly, but it’s true. Even with his impulses, he still had that fear that clutched within him. To live without fear, you’d have to be a monster.

“Why do you have the courage to face them?” Pod asked.

“Because I know people need me. The ones I love need me,” Jaime stated, his mind flashing to the bear pit of Harrenhal.

“Well, I am scared of the…” Podrick trailed off then swallowed. “…wights. But I’m also scared for a different reason.”

“And what is it, Pod?” Jaime asked soothingly. He never thought he’d take on a tone to this boy.

“I love Lady Brienne. I don’t wanna lose her.”

Jaime tensed at this. Podrick must have sensed it, too.

“N-no. I don’t mean it like that,” Podrick stuttered and Jaime found himself relaxing again. “I just- I never had a mother before. I served lords but they were never nice, u-until Lord Tyrion, of course.”

Jaime smiled at that. For all the horrid things that can be said about Tyrion, he had a soft spot for children, especially misfits.

“But it was only for a short while. Lady Brienne is the kindest person I’ve ever met,” Pod squeaked, and Jaime hummed in agreement. “She can be harsh but she is caring, too. Sometimes, I find myself waking against her arm. I know she isn’t comfortable because she feels stiff but when I try to go away, she tells me to go back to sleep anyway.”

Jaime’s heart fluttered at that. _Sweet, nurturing Brienne._

“Of course then you came with us and I thought you were kind of scary, like in King’s Landing. But I see that you are truly kind, ser, and funny. And I see how much you care for Lady Brienne,” Podrick piped and Jaime couldn’t help but smile. Brienne was one of the few people who didn’t see him as a monster. He could only really count those types of people with his golden hand.

“Uhm… you’re better around Lady Brienne,” Podrick remarked.

“Brienne makes us better people, wouldn’t you agree, Pod?” Jaime replied.

“Oh yes, Ser Jaime!” Pod exclaimed. “I think you and Lady Brienne would make a wonderful mother and father.”

Jaime’s eyes widened at that. His whole body was unable to process the emotions he’s feeling. He was probably as stiff as the wench at personal touches.

“Oh,” Podrick squeaked. “So you and Lady Brienne are not-”

“No, we aren’t, Pod,” Jaime said sadly.

“I-I’m sorry,” Podrick stuttered. Jaime could feel the heat from the boy’s blushing face. _I swear by the seven, he’s so Brienne._ “She just talked about you a lot, so I assume…”

“No, don’t be, Podrick,” Jaime said as he extracted himself from Podrick and began to stand up. “I- she talks about me?”

“All the time, ser,” Podrick beamed. “She tells me about how you are a good person, even though I wasn’t too sure…eh… until I met you with her, of course.”

Jaime would have danced for joy and kissed Pod right there and then, but his muscles felt sore.

“So, do you love her, ser?” Podrick asked. “I mean, I-I knew that y-you aren’t together, but, d-do you love her?”

“By the gods, yes,” Jaime blurted out without thinking. He was surprised that he meant the sudden answer wholeheartedly after some minutes of contemplation.

“Y-you should tell her, ser,” Podrick said.

“Are you giving me romantic advice, young Pod?” Jaime teased and the boy turned away blushing.

“I don’t know anything about that kind of love, ser, but I do know Lady Brienne,” Pod spoke up, confident. “You have to tell her straight to her face. No japes or lies. And you have to show her. Because Lady Brienne deserves love, and I see that no one else loves her more than you, ser.”

Jaime was shocked at the confidence and wisdom young Pod got all of a sudden.

“You have to act now, ser,” Pod adds. “What if she dies, or you die? You would never tell her. And she would never know that someone loves her in that way for who she is.”

Suddenly, fear gripped Jaime’s heart. It never really crossed his mind. When you’re at war, it’s just your battle plans and sword skills crowding your mind. Jaime scrambled to run, then he stopped and turned to Pod who was standing.

“Thank you,” Jaime said as he bowed.

Podrick bowed back.

As Jaime turned, the boy called out to him.

“I wish you and Lady Brienne were my parents.” And Jaime imagined it- a boy of Pod’s age with blonde hair and blue eyes running toward him. Jaime could feel the warmth of the hug- like the atmosphere of the mealtimes he, Podrick and Brienne shared in the North. He could envision Brienne in her armor, sweaty from training and kissing him on the cheek. Then, he imagined holding his hand to Brienne’s stomach, then feel a babe in his arms.

“I would be honored to have you as a son, Pod,” Jaime replied as he rushed off to the wench’s tent.

****

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: I honestly forgot how I wanted to go with this prequel when I talked about this with Lollyck but oh whale. XD I kinda had these Pod-as-JB’s-adopted-son feels and thought it could go with the original fic. XD In the books, Jaime’s desire to be a father is less than in the show so maybe in the books, if JB and Pod make it out Lady Stoneheart together and okay, they could travel northward and instead of Myrcella dying on Jaime’s arms awakening his sense of fatherhood, maybe being with Podrick and the domestic interactions with Brienne will. IMAGINE THE FEELS. But one step at a time. XD Let’s pray that they make it out of the Lady Stoneheart encounter okay first XD
> 
> Please do review. REVIEWS ARE LOVE AND LIFE AND MOTIVATION IN THI DARK CRUEL WORLD ^w^ ~


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